Damn Interesting

And You Thought Houdini Was Good

One of my favorite films is ‘The Great Escape” with its spectacular cast and haunting conclusion. If you are unfamiliar with the film, it is based upon a true account concerning a POW camp especially built for Allied officers who were “problematic”; that is, always escaping. The audacity of their escape had wide effects, and is said to have helped with the D-Day landing, considering the escapees tied up a whole lot of soldiers trying to round them up. Tragically, the majority of the escapees were executed upon capture in retaliation.

A largely unknown story is about to be told. It is well chronicled in the book “Colditz” by Henry Chancellor (among other books). The town of Colditz is located approximately 150 km southwest of Berlin. Prisoners, upon arrival, found it confusing. Disembarking from the train, there was no camp. They were marched from the station, through the village, up a hill and right into the courtyard of a large, gloomy castle. They half expected to be executed.

Colditz Castle was built in 1014 and steadily enlarged until about 1694 when it comprised about 700 rooms. It was used as a hunting lodge at times until 1824 when it was converted to an asylum. In 1933, it was converted into a labor camp for Hitler’s communist enemies.

The structure looked extremely formidable. It was situated on a rocky outcropping. The outer courtyard housed the 200 or so Germans it took to maintain the place and the inner courtyard was used by the prisoners. The outer courtyard had two exits. One led over the moat into the town, the other into the forest. The prisoner side was lined with a 100 foot cliff into a river. Although this seemed terribly impregnable, one German officer mentioned, “…apart from putting bars on the windows, it had never really been built for he purpose of keeping people in. A more unsuitable place to hold prisoners will probably never again be chosen.” As with similar structures, the place was a labyrinth of tunnels and passageways, perfect for escaping “bad boys”. Still it wasn’t all tea and crumpets. Before the influx of Red Cross packages, they were literally starving.

When the first Allied officers arrived in 1941, there were over 100 Polish soldiers who were also termed “bad boys”. During the war, the Polish and Russians were treated as subhumans by the Germans. The Polish because they were conquered and technically had no country under the Nazi rule and the Russians because they never signed the Geneva Convention. The prisoners were separated into nationalities and housed such. There were Polish, British, French, Dutch, Indian, and so on. There were more unsuccessful attempts than successful ones. It is estimated that there was an escape attempt every 10 days during the four years prisoners were housed there. The attempts were so many, that the Kommandant began an escape museum to train his men in finding and stopping as many attempts as possible.

The British war department was also helpful in these attempts, smuggling useful escape items into the camp in care packages. The would hide compasses in walnuts or spools of thread, saws in shoelaces or combs, maps in wax phonographic records or in false walls of food tins. They had secret codes and maps embedded in silk handkerchiefs that would develop when placed in water boiled with a certain yellow almond. Blankets washed would reveal patterns for making civilian suits. The possibilities were endless and it turned into a serious game to hide them from the Germans.

The first successful attempt was made by a Frenchman name Le Ray. His attempt was fairly simple. Two or three times a week, the officers were led down a zigzag path to a barb-wired area called the park. On the way down they passed an unused building that was under construction. The workers stored their tools in one of the rooms on the first floor. On one of the walks, Le Ray, who had hidden some civilian clothes under his great coat, ran up the small bank and hid in the house while the zigzag shielded him from the guard following him. After changing into his civilian clothes, which was dangerous considering you could be taken for a spy and shot, he made his way over 400 miles to the border and into freedom.

One officer, very young looking and small, was sewn into a mattress as it was being removed by some French orderlies. His costume was that of a Hitler Youth. He traveled quite far, even getting a ride with some soldiers until hunger drove him to the American consulate in Vienna. From fear of loss of diplomatic status, he was turned away and betrayed; directed to a police station.

The attempts became more audacious at time went on. Another Frenchman Lebrun spent time running in the park to build up his legs. When the day came, he was in his accustomed running outfit. Using his friend as a catapult, he ran, stepped into his friend’s cupped hands and leaped clear over the 10 ft wire. Dodging bullets, he cleared another 8 ft wall and escaped. Soon after he stole a bicycle and rode his way to the border. His disguise, also to hide his awful German accent, was an Italian officer on holiday. A few miles from the border, he ditched the bike and took the pump with him as a weapon. Lebrun actually crossed into freedom twice. Mistakenly, he crossed into Switzerland and then back out into Germany. Retracing his path, he ran into a German police, who, for some strange reason, didn’t believe his Italian officer story at 6 a.m. in the morning near the Swiss border walking with a bicycle pump. Lebrun knocked him out with the pump, took his pistol and made across the border again. Enlisting the help of a passing village girl, he had himself arrested by the Swiss police. Two weeks later the Kommendant of the camp received a letter requesting his personal effects.

In true British fashion, a theatre with stage was built and various plays were performed. The soldiers put on full performances, growing out their hair and drawing hose on their legs to play female parts. They were so convincing that a couple of them received invitations to the French officers’ quarters for dinner. In even truer British fashion, the stage and props were built on the promise that the tools would not be stolen or used for escape. No one broke that promise; they made their own tools. Under the stage they cut a hole in the ceiling which opened into a locked room. Picking the lock, they found that the adjoining hall led out into the German side of the camp near the main gates. At the end of one play, they dropped down through the hole, picked the lock on the door, exited out into the German side of the castle. Dressed as German officers, they marched out, even reprimanding a soldier for not returning their salute.

One attempt led 6 officers to make a hole leading from a German officer’s office to an adjoining storeroom where they left the camp dressed as 2 German officers and 4 Polish workers. Two successfully made it on that one.

Other attempts were made using disguises matching either German officers or frequent visitors to the camp. Here is a side-by-side photo of the camp electrician and the POW dressed as him.

One day, while returning from the park to the castle, some British soldiers noticed that a passing lady dropped her watch. The Brits, being all form and manners, picked up the watch and attempted to return it to the lady. The German guards only thought it odd when the lady kept walking instead of retrieving her watch. Upon inspection, it turned out to be a French officer decked out to look like a very respectable woman.

During the numerous attempts to escape, the three or four Appells (roll calls) a day could make or break an attempt. If the Germans didn’t know you were gone, they would not send out the goon squad to find you. The Dutch utilized the fact that they were just counted to give escapees more time. One of the prisoners, an artist, sculpted two heads which were then dressed in a hat and long coat. At roll call, the dummies were brought out and stood at attention with a pair of boots. It worked fine until one day the dummy was told to dress right, which it didn’t.

The glider built in the attic.

The most outlandish attempt was never put into play as the war ended before it could be utilized. A British aeronautical engineer designed a plan for a 2 man glider. The prisoners built it in the attic of the castle chapel. It was extremely light and was made with materials at hand: bedding, wooden bed slats, floor boards, electrical wiring. It would be launched off a runway of tables using a bathtub full of concrete to provide the necessary acceleration. The project was extremely well hidden using false walls, lookouts and an electric alarm system.

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I loved that film “The Great Escape”. It had a Laundry list of stars. The movie was cast with a light hearted feel which I feel maybe skewwed the reality of being imprisoned in a NAZI pow camp, but hey, that is why it is called a MOVIE!

Josh Harding

Posted 01 December 2005 at 08:19 am

If you read Chancellor’s book, he has a whole section on goon-baiting, which reflects the duality of their condition in Colditz. The theatre, the goon-baiting, and even some of the escape attempts shows a lighter side to the dark times they lived in.

Scrappy

Posted 09 December 2005 at 08:57 pm

If you loved “The Great Escape” watch “The Longest Day”

Melon Head

Posted 22 May 2006 at 10:28 pm

I like the scene in “Great Escape” where they made a batch of hootch for Independence Day.

Wargamer

Posted 14 February 2007 at 02:53 pm

I’d add “A Bridge Too Far” as well. All I hope to have in my DVD collection.

Back in the days when the biggest stars were willing to accept even bit and cameo parts to be part of a story. No ‘headliners’. Like “The Magnificent Seven” as well. Ah, those were the days. Actors not stars. The closest thing we have to that today are the friends who do the “Ocean’s Eleven” remakes. Thanks guys, classy and love it.

Wargamer said: “I’d add “A Bridge Too Far” as well. All I hope to have in my DVD collection.

Back in the days when the biggest stars were willing to accept even bit and cameo parts to be part of a story. “

There are some shows made about this castle. First was a movie made back in the fifties called “The Colditz Story”, the script was somewhat lame, but still interesting. Then there was a documentary called “Escape from Colditz” made in England in 2001. This one featured actual English and French POWs’ and their exploits. It included having the POWs’ revisit the Castle, many for the first time since the war.

In my opinion the best was a mini-series from the 1970’s called simply “Colditz”. Robert Wagner appeared in several episodes and it was based on the many attempts utilized by actual prisoners.

Wargamer

Posted 15 February 2007 at 07:43 pm

Thanks Rad,

I seem to remember a BBC series on CBC in Canada of such,
where they made a fake wall in an attic to hide the glider they were building
and using gymnastics equipment for escapes and more.

Merciless

Posted 08 June 2007 at 10:51 am

Nice job & Damn Interesting. I always enjoy seeing, reading, and hearing about escapes and attempts of prisoners from war(s).

Former-Marine

Posted 16 October 2007 at 12:06 am

Oorah! Steve McQueen (The Great Escape, Bullitt, etc, etc) was a great Actor. I saw a movie (I think in the 1970’s) about Colditz (I only know this because of the wonderful story here on Damn Interesting). The last few minutes of the movie shows the catapult going into action (ie, with the bathtub full of cement) then the Glider launching off the top of the castle. For a second or two, the Glider drops out of site (and you don’t know if it crashed or not). Next thing you know, the Glider pulls out of the dive and swoops off…thus, the allowing the one or two (don’t remember) POWs to escape. That was one of the Best Damn endings of any movie I’ve seen. THANK YOU JOSH, for reminding me of this great movie (if only I can find out the title……).

Radiatidon

Posted 16 October 2007 at 06:37 am

Former-Marine said: “For a second or two, the Glider drops out of site (and you don’t know if it crashed or not). Next thing you know, the Glider pulls out of the dive and swoops off…thus, the allowing the one or two (don’t remember) POWs to escape. That was one of the Best Damn endings of any movie I’ve seen. THANK YOU JOSH, for reminding me of this great movie (if only I can find out the title……).”

Hmm, I don’t recall the glider in the black and white movie called The Colditz Story made in 1955. Though the movie had additional fictional elements added, just to spice up the show, it was fairly accurate. Based on the books by Pat Reid.

If memory serves me right (slightly brown with a zesty sizzle), I believe that the movie The Birdman (1971) was the first to mentioned the use of a glider to escape. This is more than probable the movie you refer to.

If you follow this link, Fiddlersgreen (a model building site), this is a short story about Colditz and the glider. It includes some nice pictures of the castle, the actual glider, and a model.

Hope this helps

The Don

matthew1701

Posted 02 October 2008 at 05:43 pm

There has also been a more recent film about the Colditz story. I believe it was out on tv as perhaps a mini series, but I rented it at block buster. This version has Jason Preistly (probably the best known cast name) as a downed Canadian pilot, with a drug problem, as the camps scrounger and is a compelling watch!

jski

Posted 07 September 2009 at 11:29 pm

Way back in the day (mid ’80’s), I had a history teacher in high school who always used the same substitute teacher. I am ashamed to admit that I do not recall his name, but I do know that some famous actor or another portrayed him in “The Great Escape”. He used to tell the most amazing stories. Here is some of what I remember:
He desperately wanted to go fight the Nazis, but the U.S. was not yet involved in the war, so he immigrated to Canada, and joined their military as a pilot. He was eventually shot down, and sent to a POW camp. He participated in the escapes of other inmates (thus his character appearing in the movie), but did not himself escape, so that he could continue aiding others’ escapes.
An interesting thing that he told us involved the Red Cross supplies: At some point in the war, the Germans did not have the men to spare to escort/drive the Red Cross trucks (or perhaps it was to dangerous and the Red Cross wouldn’t drive into Nazi territory, I can’t remember the details), so the Nazis would actually let a prisoner out to go get the truck! If this volunteer decided to not come back, but instead escaped, the British would actually turn him back over to the Germans!
This individual also claimed to have accidentally created penicillin! The story, as he told it, goes like this: After some point in the war, when the Germans were loosing badly, the Red Cross trucks were no longer allowed through, and the Germans did not have the resources to adequately feed the POWs. The story teller had apparently stashed a tin of food (can’t remember what kind) in his sock, saved for a rainy day, as it were. After months of near starvation, and being quite ill, he decided to eat his stash. He opened the tin, and the contents were moldy. At this point, he didn’t really care, and ate the moldy food, anyway. As he told the story, within a few days he quite healthy again. Damn, I wish I could remember his name.

StevenRichards

Posted 22 June 2014 at 02:09 pm

The stories relating to the escape tactics used by the prisoners of Colditz are very interesting. I remember reading about how prisoners created a wooden typewriter which would be used to print the font for fake passports. The typewriter could easily be disassembled so it looked like harmless pieces of wood!

Also they would create fake guns out of wood that they would later paint black so they would look like Lugers.

StevenRichards

Posted 22 June 2014 at 02:15 pm

Oh wait I remember reading an incident the Germans did to the prisoners from Britain (I believe) while they were held captive at Colditz.

The Germans would say via the loudspeaker how many British soldiers they killed and the British realized they were lying because of the sheer numbers that the Germans said they had killed. So every time the Germans proclaimed how many more Britons they killed all the British soldiers would laugh!

<. I saw a movie (I think in the 1970's) about Colditz (I only know this because of the wonderful story here on Damn Interesting). The last few minutes of the movie shows the catapult going into action (ie, with the bathtub full of cement) then the Glider launching off the top of the castle. For a second or two, the Glider drops out of site (and you don't know if it crashed or not). Next thing you know, the Glider pulls out of the dive and swoops off…thus, the allowing the one or two (don't remember) POWs to escape. That was one of the Best Damn endings of any movie I've seen. THANK YOU JOSH, for reminding me of this great movie (if only I can find out the title……)."

The movie you’re talking about was called “the birdmen” or something very similar.

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